SHAH ALAM - All road accidents in Malaysia point to three reasons - narrow emergency lanes, lack of safety features and reckless drivers.
According to transportation expert Rosli Azad, poor road design, whereby emergency lanes along the highways are too small and narrow to cater for lorries and other vehicles that have to stop for emergencies, would be the first reason why accidents happen on Malaysian roads and highways.
Commenting on a fatal accident in Jasin, Melaka where a 59-year old man was killed and his son critically injured after they were mowed down by a lorry after stopping in the emergency lane to replace a flat tyre today, Rosli said it may be due to the lorry travelling at a high speed and with insufficient warning signs.
"In the case mentioned, a car with a flat tyre was rammed by a truck, mainly due to the high speed of the truck, an insufficient warning sign to give notice to a broken-down car and possibly also due to an insufficient lane provided for an emergency stop," Rosli said.
He said safety features to warn motorists of accident risks involved when they are on the roads or highways are not sufficiently provided by the authorities, such as LLM, highway operators, JKR, and local authorities.
Another reason why road accidents occurs n Malaysia is that the authorities fail to take full responsibility of the stretch of roads or highways where they frequently occur.
"They should look at these spots and provide immediate improvements in terms of road design, reduced speed, bigger safety lanes, more safety features, warning signs so that further accidents can be prevented," he told Sinar Daily.
He added that many cases of accidents occurs because there are too many reckless drivers on the road now compared to before and with too many of them on roads or highways where heavy traffic flow is now the norm, it is a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
He urged the authorities to take whatever action it deemed necessary to address the high accident rate.
"There are sufficient rules and regulations that are already in place for them to act and take appropriate actions to improve the road layout and design."